Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Crewel Yule
Needlecraft Mysteries, No. 8

by Monica Ferris



      The world of cozy mysteries seems almost overrun with new series about crafts and specialty shops, but Monica Ferris' well-established one featuring needlework shop owner Betsy Devonshire has always stood out for me. Not so much because of the needlework, but because of the equally believable characters and puzzle solving at its core.

Betsy isn't an expert needle worker, any more than she's Superwoman fighting crime. She seems to have a knack for crime-solving, but she does it as you or I might - doubting herself all the while, having to ask people all sorts of things rather than already knowing everything or being some sort of genius, having all too human reactions at the thought of looking at murdered bodies, and relying on her friends for help.

In Crewel Yule, Betsy and crew are far from home at a wholesaler's market in a Nashville hotel. How well the characters work -believability as people and in detecting - away from their usual environments is always a good test for a series like this. Here they come up trumps. A rare blizzard has isolated the hotel into a sort of locked room puzzle, populated with people from the victim's past who have reason to hate and resent her. That same blizzard interferes with proper police investigation and leaves them eager to accept a verdict of accidental death. So, driven by Jill, a policewoman herself back home and niggled here by too many anomalies to believe in accidents, Betsy and crew keep investigating.

Characterization is a strong point throughout, including memorable bit parts like a hotel administrator trying to be professional while keeping that last nerve from snapping and the victim herself, who comes across as all too believably someone who could drive many people to the breaking point. I did find the setup in the first few chapters, jumping all around in time and viewpoint, unnecessarily frustrating. But once that groundwork is laid, you can relax and just enjoy yourself. Probably not my favorite entry in the series because of that initial frustration, but I really enjoyed it regardless.

The Book

Berkley Publishing Group
October 4, 2005
Paperback
0425206351
Cozy mystery
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
NOTE: Needlework patterns included

The Reviewer

Kim Malo
Reviewed 2005
NOTE:
© 2005 MyShelf.com